The 13th ACI Airport Exchange, organised jointly by ACI EUROPE and ACI Asia-Pacific and hosted by Abu Dhabi Airports, took place in Abu Dhabi on 25-27 November 2019. The theme of this year’s event was “We cannot be radical enough – harnessing every action towards operating the zero-carbon airport”: Building less-impactful, smarter, secure and safer airports. Around 900 participants gathered for the global meeting of airport leaders, top aviation suppliers and airlines. This year’s ACI Airport Exchange will be hosted by Royal Schiphol Group in Amsterdam, 1-3 December 2020.

Bryan Thompson, CEO Abu Dhabi Airports, delivered the welcome from the host. He explained that 2019 was the Year of Tolerance in the UAE, which is home to 100+ nationalities, a theme bringing aviation and connectivity to the fore.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE, gave a State of the Industry Address, in which he presented a comprehensive overview of the ever-changing aviation landscape.

Patti Chau, then Regional Director, ACI Asia-Pacific, outlined the Asia-Pacific perspective on the industry, including exciting expansion projects and airports’ hard work to attain excellence in environmental, safety and security performance.

Olivier Maillard, E-Fan X Program Director, Airbus, gave a keynote address in which he explained the ambition to deliver the first electric hybrid propulsion.

In a fascinating keynote speech, Linda Celestino, Vice President Guest Service and Delivery, explained how Etihad Airways is bringing sustainable flying forward with investment in more fuel efficient 787 Dreamliners and retrofitting its existing fleet. This year, Etihad will partner with Boeing to introduce the Greenliner, incorporating step-change technology to reduce the impact of flying on the environment.

The Airport Operations conference featured a special birdstrike session entitled: “There have to be better, scientific, and concise ways of measuring birdstrike risk.” This led with a defining presentation from Anastasios Anagnostopoulos, Head Wildlife and Biodiversity Management, Athens International Airport. He was joined in the on-stage discussion by Raj Menon, Senior Manager Compliance Assurance Operations for both Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central, and Lamir Mukhtar Hassan, Assistant Chief Bird and Wildlife Hazard Control Officer, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), operator of 22 airports.

The Airport Development & Sustainability and Digital Innovation conferences combined for a session on Digital Towers. The session was moderated by Conor Mullan, Managing Director, Think, with speakers including Andy Taylor, Chief Solutions Officer, Digital Towers, NATS; Neil Bowles, Head of Air Traffic Management, Searidge Technologies; Niclas Gustavsson, VP Products and Services, Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions; Paul Diestelkamp, Head of Business Development & Solutions, Head Office, Air Navigation Solutions; and Wolfgang Hatzack, Managing Director, ATRiCS.

In his closing keynote address, Martin Bowman, General Manager, Aviation Products, McLaren Deloitte Alliance, explained how the McLaren Digital Twin approach can help airports to reduce congestion and total aircraft taxi time.

Marek Litwin, Director, Airport Strategy and Planning, Solidarity Transport Hub, gave a closing keynote address in which he outlined the concept of Solidarity Airport – the Central Transport Hub for the Republic of Poland. Litwin explained that this will have a substantial impact on the country’s economic growth – a +10% increase in air connectivity translates into +0.5% growth in GDP.